DeSantis says his health care plan would ‘supersede’ ObamaCare

Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has said his health insurance plan would replace Obamacare if he is elected to the White House, promising to unveil a complete plan in the spring.

NBC's Kristen Welker pressed Florida Governor DeSantis about former President Trump's promise to repeal and replace Obamacare, a promise he failed to fulfill during his presidency.

“This is what I would do. What I think they need to do is come up with a plan to replace Obamacare, lower prices so people can afford health care, and at the same time reduce people's pre-existing conditions. And we're going to look at the big companies that are causing the price hikes: big pharma, big insurance, big government,” he said on Sunday. He spoke on “Meet the Press.''

But when asked what he meant by “replace”, he offered few details about the proposal. He said his plan offers “different and better” coverage at “the lowest possible price.”

Asked whether he would repeal and replace Obamacare, he said, “We need a health care plan that works.” “Obamacare isn't working. We're going to replace it with a better, better plan.”

He said the team's proposal “will definitely be tackling insurance, we'll definitely be tackling big government, and we'll definitely be tackling big pharmaceutical companies.”

When asked for specifics, DeSantis said, “More transparency, more choice for consumers, more affordable options, less red tape, less bureaucracy that weighs down everyone. ” he said.

“And you also need price transparency, for example. If you want to lower prices, you need to actually make the market work,” he says. “Look, no one knows how much something costs. Well, of course we won't cut prices. We have third-party payers.”

“So we're going to be transparent and make sure that people have access to the health insurance that's available to them, so if they do choose a treatment that's cheaper than the street treatment; “You can actually share your savings with lower premiums,” he continued.

President Trump emphasized last week that he wants to replace Obamacare, not “end” it. He also said last week that he was “seriously considering alternatives” to one of former President Obama's flagship bills.

This came as a surprise to Republicans, who have largely distanced themselves from the health care debate in recent years as it has become an issue against them. President Trump also called the failure to repeal the law in 2017 “a low point for the Republican Party.”